Today began slowly as I took a longer morning snooze than usual. This extra time gave me space to deeply reflect on Slogan #9, a simple yet profound teaching that invites us to weave mindfulness into every aspect of our lives…

Stop and ask yourself the question: “What’s happening right now?” How is this slogan relevant for the particular conditions of my life? How can I apply this intentional practice in order to awaken compassion in myself and others?

During my sit today, I practiced Tonglen, using the mantra: "Three objects, three poisons, and three seeds of virtue." I found myself returning to these words repeatedly, especially when my mind started spinning stories and attaching to various sensations.

I call this slogan the Power of 3. We label the world around us in order to make sense of all experienced phenomena.

“Equanimity is a state, not a virtue. Through the practice of sending and taking in the breath, I reflect on my past and future actions to stay present, reacting with awareness rather than toxicity." - R.D.

The Buddha used the analogy of the two wings of a bird to illustrate the Bodhicitta path -- we need both the wings of compassion and wisdom to balance the heart and mind.

“Like a child of illusion, one can create a story, then move between the story seamlessly without becoming attached to what was created.” - R.D.

Meditation practice can be divided into two parts: formal and non-formal meditation (aka real life)! Cultivating presence, spaciousness, clarity, and stability in our daily lives is the reason to practice formal meditation.

Begin to be fully aware of the sensations and the feelings that arise with the stories that are showing up. Sit with them, do not turn away.

Slogan #5 focuses on the perspectives of space and silence. Space is open, vast, still, unrestricted, sacred, and safe.

Slogan #4 addresses our tendency to cling to the false sense of having figured out the previous two slogans; that is, we have now conceptualized the inherent emptiness of all phenomena and the ungraspable nature of awareness.

Practice for the sake of practicing. Do the work because it is a part of being alive, the privilege of living.

Busy mind today. There were so many thoughts, and they took me back to the beginning of my meditation practice.

This slogan is the second of five ultimate or absolute truths of compassion and is one of Buddhism’s fundamental philosophical tenets.

At the beginning of my practice, I felt a separation between my body and mind. It was difficult to find a place of steadiness that came from within.

Slogan #2 challenges our compulsion to concretize all phenomena as solid and to take ourselves so seriously.

First, train in the preliminaries; The Four Reminders or The Four Thoughts

The 59 Lojong slogans are reminiscent of Patanjali’s pithy sutras and similar to his 196 aphorisms, these slogans have much to teach us.